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Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images

The Supreme Court maintained access to the abortion pill mifepristone, unanimously refusing to hear a case brought by a number of anti-abortion organizations and doctors over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the pill.
“The plaintiffs have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA’s relaxed regulation of mifepristone,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion issued Thursday. “But under Article III of the Constitution, those kinds of objections alone do not establish a justiciable case or controversy in federal court.”
In 2022 — after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — a newly established group that called itself the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In a federal suit filed in Amarillo, Texas, the AHM questioned the safety of mifepristone and said the existence of the pill meant doctors who objected to abortion on moral grounds would nonetheless be forced to treat patients who had taken the abortion pill and experienced adverse side effects. Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, the federal judge presiding over the case — who hears all civil suits filed in Amarillo and who had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump — ruled in favor of AHM in 2023, calling abortion providers “abortionists” in his decision to take mifepristone off the market.
After the Justice Department challenged the decision on behalf of the FDA and Danco Laboratories, the drug manufacturer that makes the pill, an appeals court scaled back Kacsmaryk’s ruling. A three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit let mifepristone stay on the market but reversed a 2016 FDA regulation that had made the pill easier to access. The Department of Justice then appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that the AHM lacked standing to sue the FDA.
In Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court agreed. “Plaintiffs are pro-life, oppose elective abortion, and have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to mifepristone being prescribed and used by others. Because plaintiffs do not prescribe or use mifepristone, plaintiffs are unregulated parties who seek to challenge FDA’s regulation of others,” wrote Kavanaugh, who ruled in favor of Dobbs. But the AHM failed to show how patients taking mifepristone would force anti-abortion doctors to “participate in an abortion.” The doctors, in other words, failed to show how they had been or could be affected by the existence of mifepristone besides objecting to its availability.
Kavanaugh’s decision states that the AHM’s argument could lead to “a new doctrine of doctor standing” that would, in turn, allow any group of professionals to sue over policies they didn’t agree with. “Firefighters could sue to object to relaxed building codes that increase fire risks,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Teachers in border states could sue to challenge allegedly lax immigration policies that lead to overcrowded classrooms.”
But the court did not rule on the merits, which means future legal challenges could be on the horizon. In fact, Kavanaugh’s decision notes that, despite their lack of standing, the AHM has other avenues through which to challenge the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, including through the regulatory process or by supporting legislation.
Pro-choice groups are taking the decision as a tentative victory. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups have spoken out against the court’s decision, but their statements suggest they’re taking the ruling as a momentary setback. Erin Hawley, the chief counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom who served as co-counsel for the AHM, said the court’s decision was “based on a legal technicality.”
“We are very hopeful that the federal courts will have a chance to hold the FDA accountable for its unlawful actions and removing these longstanding safeguards for women,” Hawley said in a statement.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images

The Supreme Court maintained access to the abortion pill mifepristone, unanimously refusing to hear a case brought by a number of anti-abortion organizations and doctors over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the pill.

“The plaintiffs have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA’s relaxed regulation of mifepristone,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion issued Thursday. “But under Article III of the Constitution, those kinds of objections alone do not establish a justiciable case or controversy in federal court.”

In 2022 — after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — a newly established group that called itself the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In a federal suit filed in Amarillo, Texas, the AHM questioned the safety of mifepristone and said the existence of the pill meant doctors who objected to abortion on moral grounds would nonetheless be forced to treat patients who had taken the abortion pill and experienced adverse side effects. Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, the federal judge presiding over the case — who hears all civil suits filed in Amarillo and who had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump — ruled in favor of AHM in 2023, calling abortion providers “abortionists” in his decision to take mifepristone off the market.

After the Justice Department challenged the decision on behalf of the FDA and Danco Laboratories, the drug manufacturer that makes the pill, an appeals court scaled back Kacsmaryk’s ruling. A three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit let mifepristone stay on the market but reversed a 2016 FDA regulation that had made the pill easier to access. The Department of Justice then appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that the AHM lacked standing to sue the FDA.

In Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court agreed. “Plaintiffs are pro-life, oppose elective abortion, and have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to mifepristone being prescribed and used by others. Because plaintiffs do not prescribe or use mifepristone, plaintiffs are unregulated parties who seek to challenge FDA’s regulation of others,” wrote Kavanaugh, who ruled in favor of Dobbs. But the AHM failed to show how patients taking mifepristone would force anti-abortion doctors to “participate in an abortion.” The doctors, in other words, failed to show how they had been or could be affected by the existence of mifepristone besides objecting to its availability.

Kavanaugh’s decision states that the AHM’s argument could lead to “a new doctrine of doctor standing” that would, in turn, allow any group of professionals to sue over policies they didn’t agree with. “Firefighters could sue to object to relaxed building codes that increase fire risks,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Teachers in border states could sue to challenge allegedly lax immigration policies that lead to overcrowded classrooms.”

But the court did not rule on the merits, which means future legal challenges could be on the horizon. In fact, Kavanaugh’s decision notes that, despite their lack of standing, the AHM has other avenues through which to challenge the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, including through the regulatory process or by supporting legislation.

Pro-choice groups are taking the decision as a tentative victory. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups have spoken out against the court’s decision, but their statements suggest they’re taking the ruling as a momentary setback. Erin Hawley, the chief counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom who served as co-counsel for the AHM, said the court’s decision was “based on a legal technicality.”

“We are very hopeful that the federal courts will have a chance to hold the FDA accountable for its unlawful actions and removing these longstanding safeguards for women,” Hawley said in a statement.

Read More 

Illustration: The Verge

Meta is making some improvements to WhatsApp video calls that should make them more useful for conversations with large groups of people.
One feature is a speaker spotlight, which automatically highlights the speaker and makes them appear first on-screen, according to a Meta blog post. The company is also improving screen sharing to make it easier to watch videos as a group: if you’re screen sharing and showing a video with audio, the audio is now shared as well.

Image: WhatsApp
Meta’s promotional image about its updates to WhatsApp calls.

In addition, video calls will also let you have 32 people, no matter what device you’re on. That cap had already been in place for video calls on mobile devices, but not when you were using the desktop apps: the Windows app had been limited to 16 people, and the Mac app had been limited to eight people.
Meta says the updates will roll out “over the next few weeks.”

Illustration: The Verge

Meta is making some improvements to WhatsApp video calls that should make them more useful for conversations with large groups of people.

One feature is a speaker spotlight, which automatically highlights the speaker and makes them appear first on-screen, according to a Meta blog post. The company is also improving screen sharing to make it easier to watch videos as a group: if you’re screen sharing and showing a video with audio, the audio is now shared as well.

Image: WhatsApp
Meta’s promotional image about its updates to WhatsApp calls.

In addition, video calls will also let you have 32 people, no matter what device you’re on. That cap had already been in place for video calls on mobile devices, but not when you were using the desktop apps: the Windows app had been limited to 16 people, and the Mac app had been limited to eight people.

Meta says the updates will roll out “over the next few weeks.”

Read More 

Image: HBO

Ahead of the premiere of House of the Dragon’s second season, HBO has confirmed that the Game of Thrones spinoff will be getting a third season. Naturally, there are no real details on what the new season will entail or when it will start airing on HBO or Max. We’ll need to get through season 2 for that kind of info.
House of the Dragon premiered in 2022 and is set 200 years before the original Game of Thrones series. It’s focused primarily on House Targaryen and stars the likes of Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy. The second season kicks off on June 16th on both HBO and Max. It’s also not the only extension of Game of Thrones in the works: HBO has another spinoff called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: the Hedge Knight in development, though it’s not clear when it will start airing.
If nothing else, it seems that prequels are all the rage right now for big franchises. Star Wars is currently in the midst of The Acolyte, set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, while another upcoming Max series, Dune: Prophecy, is set a whopping 10,000 years before the story of Paul Atreides.

Image: HBO

Ahead of the premiere of House of the Dragon’s second season, HBO has confirmed that the Game of Thrones spinoff will be getting a third season. Naturally, there are no real details on what the new season will entail or when it will start airing on HBO or Max. We’ll need to get through season 2 for that kind of info.

House of the Dragon premiered in 2022 and is set 200 years before the original Game of Thrones series. It’s focused primarily on House Targaryen and stars the likes of Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy. The second season kicks off on June 16th on both HBO and Max. It’s also not the only extension of Game of Thrones in the works: HBO has another spinoff called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: the Hedge Knight in development, though it’s not clear when it will start airing.

If nothing else, it seems that prequels are all the rage right now for big franchises. Star Wars is currently in the midst of The Acolyte, set 100 years before The Phantom Menace, while another upcoming Max series, Dune: Prophecy, is set a whopping 10,000 years before the story of Paul Atreides.

Read More 

NETFLIX

Between Blumhouse’s Imaginary, Paramount’s IF, and Cartoon Network’s recently announced Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends revival, the concept of dreaming up buddies to pal around with is having something of a moment. But everything about Netflix’s new trailer for The Imaginary makes it seem like the riff that could capture everyone’s hearts.
Produced by Ghibli successor Studio Ponoc, directed by Yoshiyuki Momose (NiNoKuni, Modest Heroes), and based on A.F. Harrold’s 2014 novel of the same name, The Imaginary tells the tale of Rudger (Louie Rudge-Buchanan) — just one of countless imaginary friends who can only be perceived by their creators. Whereas most Imaginaries understand that they will cease to exist once their makers forget them, Rudger and Amanda’s friendship convinces them both that they’ll never be separated. But when Mr. Bunting (Jeremy Swift) — a reality-obsessed Imaginary hunter — shows up one day searching for new prey, the children embark on an adventure, leading them to discover an entirely new world of possibilities.
Without giving away the film’s twists and turns, the trailer highlights just how playful The Imaginary’s approach to action is and how effectively Studio Ponoc’s animators managed to recreate that classic Ghibli magic. And with The Imaginary hitting Netflix on July 5th, it won’t be long before we all get a chance to experience it ourselves.

NETFLIX

Between Blumhouse’s Imaginary, Paramount’s IF, and Cartoon Network’s recently announced Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends revival, the concept of dreaming up buddies to pal around with is having something of a moment. But everything about Netflix’s new trailer for The Imaginary makes it seem like the riff that could capture everyone’s hearts.

Produced by Ghibli successor Studio Ponoc, directed by Yoshiyuki Momose (NiNoKuni, Modest Heroes), and based on A.F. Harrold’s 2014 novel of the same name, The Imaginary tells the tale of Rudger (Louie Rudge-Buchanan) — just one of countless imaginary friends who can only be perceived by their creators. Whereas most Imaginaries understand that they will cease to exist once their makers forget them, Rudger and Amanda’s friendship convinces them both that they’ll never be separated. But when Mr. Bunting (Jeremy Swift) — a reality-obsessed Imaginary hunter — shows up one day searching for new prey, the children embark on an adventure, leading them to discover an entirely new world of possibilities.

Without giving away the film’s twists and turns, the trailer highlights just how playful The Imaginary’s approach to action is and how effectively Studio Ponoc’s animators managed to recreate that classic Ghibli magic. And with The Imaginary hitting Netflix on July 5th, it won’t be long before we all get a chance to experience it ourselves.

Read More 

Dave Burke presenting at Google I/O 2024. | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Android’s leadership team at Google is losing another key leader. Dave Burke, VP of engineering for Android, is “stepping away” from heading up Android engineering and is “shifting into an advisory position while exploring AI / bio projects,” he said in an email he posted to LinkedIn.
“AI has the potential to play a pivotal role in accelerating drug discovery, with wide applicability, including in hard-to-treat pediatric cancers, a topic close to my heart,” Burke said. “I’m working with Sundar to explore relevant roles at Alphabet.”

Burke’s departure follows Google’s recent move to combine its Android and hardware teams into a new “Platforms and Devices” team run by Rick Osterloh. As part of that change, Google announced that Hiroshi Lockheimer, who had led Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS, would be moving on to other projects, and Sameer Samat would become president of the Android ecosystem.
In his email, Burke promised more details to come about what’s next for his former team. “It’s important for me to leave you in good hands with a well thought out succession plan,” he said. “We’ll be following up shortly with some additional specifics about this change, so please keep an eye out for that.”
That suggests there might be more changes on the team beyond Burke leaving, and 9to5Google reported Wednesday that Google’s platforms and devices team is “undergoing a reorganization.” Google didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment about the reported reorg.
Google is already making moves to combine pieces of its ecosystems. On Wednesday, Google announced that ChromeOS would be developed on portions of the Android tech stack in part so that it can roll out AI features more quickly.

Dave Burke presenting at Google I/O 2024. | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Android’s leadership team at Google is losing another key leader. Dave Burke, VP of engineering for Android, is “stepping away” from heading up Android engineering and is “shifting into an advisory position while exploring AI / bio projects,” he said in an email he posted to LinkedIn.

“AI has the potential to play a pivotal role in accelerating drug discovery, with wide applicability, including in hard-to-treat pediatric cancers, a topic close to my heart,” Burke said. “I’m working with Sundar to explore relevant roles at Alphabet.”

Burke’s departure follows Google’s recent move to combine its Android and hardware teams into a new “Platforms and Devices” team run by Rick Osterloh. As part of that change, Google announced that Hiroshi Lockheimer, who had led Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS, would be moving on to other projects, and Sameer Samat would become president of the Android ecosystem.

In his email, Burke promised more details to come about what’s next for his former team. “It’s important for me to leave you in good hands with a well thought out succession plan,” he said. “We’ll be following up shortly with some additional specifics about this change, so please keep an eye out for that.”

That suggests there might be more changes on the team beyond Burke leaving, and 9to5Google reported Wednesday that Google’s platforms and devices team is “undergoing a reorganization.” Google didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment about the reported reorg.

Google is already making moves to combine pieces of its ecosystems. On Wednesday, Google announced that ChromeOS would be developed on portions of the Android tech stack in part so that it can roll out AI features more quickly.

Read More 

The OnePlus Watch 2 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor and is one of our favorite Android smartwatches. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If you’re looking for an Android smartwatch but aren’t keen on Google’s and Samsung’s selections, the OnePlus Watch 2 is our favorite alternative. And right now, not only is it on sale for $269.99 ($30 off) directly from the site, but OnePlus is throwing in a free pair of OnePlus Buds 3. While we’ve seen the OnePlus Watch 2 at this price before, this is the first time you can get it bundled with the $99.99 OnePlus Buds 3, saving you a total of $130.
Its 47mm case might be a bit large for smaller wrists, but the OnePlus Watch 2 still stands out amongst its rivals because it’s the only third-party Wear OS watch running Wear OS 4. What’s impressive, too, is that it natively supports Google Assistant, lets you access all the third-party apps in the Google Play Store, and even features contactless payments. Plus, the watch’s battery can last nearly four days with regular use, which almost makes up for the fact that it lacks LTE connectivity.

Aside from being a good smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch 2 is also great for fitness tracking. It offers all the standard features you’d expect, as well as dual-frequency GPS for more accurate data in the outdoors. That said, there are some tradeoffs — you don’t get features found in some of its rivals, like EKGs, atrial fibrillation detection, native period tracking, and fall detection. However, if you’re comfortable going without those, this is a good deal at this price — especially as it integrates well with other OnePlus devices, such as the OnePlus Buds 3.
Like the OnePlus Watch 2, the Buds 3 offers impressive features for their price. They’re equipped with active noise cancellation that can actually adjust to the shape of your ear canal, for example. They also come with other conveniences, like multipoint support as well as an IP55 rating for sweat resistance, offering some extra peace of mind.

Read our review of the OnePlus Watch 2.

The OnePlus Watch 2 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor and is one of our favorite Android smartwatches. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If you’re looking for an Android smartwatch but aren’t keen on Google’s and Samsung’s selections, the OnePlus Watch 2 is our favorite alternative. And right now, not only is it on sale for $269.99 ($30 off) directly from the site, but OnePlus is throwing in a free pair of OnePlus Buds 3. While we’ve seen the OnePlus Watch 2 at this price before, this is the first time you can get it bundled with the $99.99 OnePlus Buds 3, saving you a total of $130.

Its 47mm case might be a bit large for smaller wrists, but the OnePlus Watch 2 still stands out amongst its rivals because it’s the only third-party Wear OS watch running Wear OS 4. What’s impressive, too, is that it natively supports Google Assistant, lets you access all the third-party apps in the Google Play Store, and even features contactless payments. Plus, the watch’s battery can last nearly four days with regular use, which almost makes up for the fact that it lacks LTE connectivity.

Aside from being a good smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch 2 is also great for fitness tracking. It offers all the standard features you’d expect, as well as dual-frequency GPS for more accurate data in the outdoors. That said, there are some tradeoffs — you don’t get features found in some of its rivals, like EKGs, atrial fibrillation detection, native period tracking, and fall detection. However, if you’re comfortable going without those, this is a good deal at this price — especially as it integrates well with other OnePlus devices, such as the OnePlus Buds 3.

Like the OnePlus Watch 2, the Buds 3 offers impressive features for their price. They’re equipped with active noise cancellation that can actually adjust to the shape of your ear canal, for example. They also come with other conveniences, like multipoint support as well as an IP55 rating for sweat resistance, offering some extra peace of mind.

Read our review of the OnePlus Watch 2.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

Microsoft delivered the best Xbox showcase I’ve seen in years over the weekend. Layoffs, studio closures, and Xbox exclusives coming to PS5 had fans worried about the future of the platform, but Sunday’s showcase put many of those fears to rest.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer kicked off the show with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — cementing that Xbox is now the home of Call of Duty — before moving on to new reveals and gameplay. Three titles stood out for me personally: Perfect Dark; Fable; and Gears of War: E-Day.
Last week, I revealed most of the first-party games that would be part of this showcase, but one I didn’t name was Perfect Dark. Reports had suggested it was in “rough shape.” I hadn’t heard about a potential release window, so I wasn’t sure exactly what would be presented during the showcase. The surprise three-minute Perfect Dark trailer didn’t hold back on gameplay, showing movement and visuals that looked super polished and far from rough. Sure, it was just a trailer, and we still don’t have a release date or a release window after nearly four years. But it certainly looks like the game is shaping up well.
In last week’s Notepad, I also said I was expecting to see more of Fable and a 2025 release window, and Microsoft delivered exactly that. The latest Fable trailer included Matt King, more widely recognized as Super Hans from one of the best British comedy shows of all time: Peep Show. King plays the hero Humphry, who will be forced out of retirement to take on a mysterious enemy.
King’s appearance had me smiling from the start, alongside the subtle sarcasm and British humor throughout. Fable’s developer, Playground Games, is best known for the Forza Horizon series that always pushes the visual limits of the Xbox hardware, and it looks like it’s going to do the same here. Sources tell me Microsoft is currently targeting Fable to release between…

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Image: The Verge

Microsoft delivered the best Xbox showcase I’ve seen in years over the weekend. Layoffs, studio closures, and Xbox exclusives coming to PS5 had fans worried about the future of the platform, but Sunday’s showcase put many of those fears to rest.

Xbox chief Phil Spencer kicked off the show with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — cementing that Xbox is now the home of Call of Duty — before moving on to new reveals and gameplay. Three titles stood out for me personally: Perfect Dark; Fable; and Gears of War: E-Day.

Last week, I revealed most of the first-party games that would be part of this showcase, but one I didn’t name was Perfect Dark. Reports had suggested it was in “rough shape.” I hadn’t heard about a potential release window, so I wasn’t sure exactly what would be presented during the showcase. The surprise three-minute Perfect Dark trailer didn’t hold back on gameplay, showing movement and visuals that looked super polished and far from rough. Sure, it was just a trailer, and we still don’t have a release date or a release window after nearly four years. But it certainly looks like the game is shaping up well.

In last week’s Notepad, I also said I was expecting to see more of Fable and a 2025 release window, and Microsoft delivered exactly that. The latest Fable trailer included Matt King, more widely recognized as Super Hans from one of the best British comedy shows of all time: Peep Show. King plays the hero Humphry, who will be forced out of retirement to take on a mysterious enemy.

King’s appearance had me smiling from the start, alongside the subtle sarcasm and British humor throughout. Fable’s developer, Playground Games, is best known for the Forza Horizon series that always pushes the visual limits of the Xbox hardware, and it looks like it’s going to do the same here. Sources tell me Microsoft is currently targeting Fable to release between…

Read More 

We’re hoping for a big overhaul on this iconic pair, but they’re still the best Beats headphones you can buy. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

If you’re not an audiophile and can’t otherwise afford to splurge on a substantial pair of headphones like the AirPods Max or the new Sonos Ace headphones, a pair of Beats can do the job just fine. The brand’s headphones consistently sound pretty good and have kept up well with the times under Apple’s stewardship. You can consider the Beats Studio Pro the pinnacle of the line right now, and the flagship over-ear pair are nearly matching their all-time low price at around $179.95 ($170 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. That’s only $10 more than the all-time low price we saw during Black Friday.

At launch, we felt the Beats Studio Pro couldn’t quite measure up to the competition in the price arena they played in. In terms of audio quality, they won’t beat Sony’s WH-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra they’re positioned against. They don’t sound bad, mind you; they’re just not great. But they’re still the best Beats headphones you can get, and there are other reasons to consider going for these beyond whatever affinity you have for the brand.
For example, these headphones are more adaptable than most across the mobile ecosystem duopoly currently ruled by iOS and Android. On iOS, they support key features like one-touch pairing, Siri, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, Find My, and iCloud sync. On Android, you also get Fast Pair, Find My Device support, and automatic pairing and seamless audio switching between Android devices and Chromebooks. Plus, you get better active noise cancellation and transparency mode compared to the Beats Studio 3 they replaced, not to mention lossless USB-C audio (although you give up the aforementioned audio features when using it).

Read our Beats Studio Pro review.

Thirsty for more Thursday deals?

Amazon’s 32-inch Fire TV is down to $89.99 ($110 off) at Amazon, which is a new all-time low price. A 720p TV doesn’t sound all that exciting these days, but at this price, it’ll do for guest rooms or if you need something to shove on the bathroom counter. It runs the same Fire TV OS as the more substantial models, supports HDR10, offers three HDMI ports (including one with ARC), and comes with an Alexa Voice Remote.
Now until June 23rd, you can get three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $34.99 ($10 off) at Woot. The Xbox Games Showcase on June 9th brought an exciting glimpse into a stacked year of gaming for the latter half of 2024 and well into 2025. It’s worth considering stacking a few of these to make sure you can play all of the great-looking games hitting the service on day one. Woot lets you buy up to 24 digital codes and delivers them to your email within a few days of purchasing, but note that you can only prepay a maximum of 36 months on new and existing Xbox Live accounts.
Say hello to Moto’s new all-time low price on the foldable Motorola Razr Plus. It’s down to $649.99 ($350 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Motorola for an unlocked model with 256GB of storage. The 2023 Android smartphone has a flexible OLED screen that allows it to fold up in clamshell mode. It’s an era-appropriate homage to the sleek flip phones it helped popularize. The cover screen is much larger than its predecessor’s at 3.6 inches, and the phone flips open to a full-length 6.9-inch OLED display. We wish the cover screen were a bit more useful and a little less of a chore to use, but it’s a fun device with a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset that makes for great performance and contributes to all-day battery life. Read our review.

We’re hoping for a big overhaul on this iconic pair, but they’re still the best Beats headphones you can buy. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

If you’re not an audiophile and can’t otherwise afford to splurge on a substantial pair of headphones like the AirPods Max or the new Sonos Ace headphones, a pair of Beats can do the job just fine. The brand’s headphones consistently sound pretty good and have kept up well with the times under Apple’s stewardship. You can consider the Beats Studio Pro the pinnacle of the line right now, and the flagship over-ear pair are nearly matching their all-time low price at around $179.95 ($170 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. That’s only $10 more than the all-time low price we saw during Black Friday.

At launch, we felt the Beats Studio Pro couldn’t quite measure up to the competition in the price arena they played in. In terms of audio quality, they won’t beat Sony’s WH-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra they’re positioned against. They don’t sound bad, mind you; they’re just not great. But they’re still the best Beats headphones you can get, and there are other reasons to consider going for these beyond whatever affinity you have for the brand.

For example, these headphones are more adaptable than most across the mobile ecosystem duopoly currently ruled by iOS and Android. On iOS, they support key features like one-touch pairing, Siri, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, Find My, and iCloud sync. On Android, you also get Fast Pair, Find My Device support, and automatic pairing and seamless audio switching between Android devices and Chromebooks. Plus, you get better active noise cancellation and transparency mode compared to the Beats Studio 3 they replaced, not to mention lossless USB-C audio (although you give up the aforementioned audio features when using it).

Read our Beats Studio Pro review.

Thirsty for more Thursday deals?

Amazon’s 32-inch Fire TV is down to $89.99 ($110 off) at Amazon, which is a new all-time low price. A 720p TV doesn’t sound all that exciting these days, but at this price, it’ll do for guest rooms or if you need something to shove on the bathroom counter. It runs the same Fire TV OS as the more substantial models, supports HDR10, offers three HDMI ports (including one with ARC), and comes with an Alexa Voice Remote.
Now until June 23rd, you can get three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $34.99 ($10 off) at Woot. The Xbox Games Showcase on June 9th brought an exciting glimpse into a stacked year of gaming for the latter half of 2024 and well into 2025. It’s worth considering stacking a few of these to make sure you can play all of the great-looking games hitting the service on day one. Woot lets you buy up to 24 digital codes and delivers them to your email within a few days of purchasing, but note that you can only prepay a maximum of 36 months on new and existing Xbox Live accounts.
Say hello to Moto’s new all-time low price on the foldable Motorola Razr Plus. It’s down to $649.99 ($350 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Motorola for an unlocked model with 256GB of storage. The 2023 Android smartphone has a flexible OLED screen that allows it to fold up in clamshell mode. It’s an era-appropriate homage to the sleek flip phones it helped popularize. The cover screen is much larger than its predecessor’s at 3.6 inches, and the phone flips open to a full-length 6.9-inch OLED display. We wish the cover screen were a bit more useful and a little less of a chore to use, but it’s a fun device with a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset that makes for great performance and contributes to all-day battery life. Read our review.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

TikTok is introducing a new way for musicians on the platform to promote their music — this time through a video series.
The series, called “Off the Record,” is produced by TikTok and features musical artists like Shakira, Charli XCX, and Meghan Trainor. The short clips are similar to series like Song Exploder or The New York Times’ “Diary of a Song,” where artists talk about their inspiration behind songs, the writing and recording process, and more. The videos — some of which have already gone live — are shared by artists over the course of June.
TikTok also announced a hub on the app where Off the Record videos live. Users can find the page by searching for #OfftheRecord.
“Off the Record is part of TikTok’s continued efforts to support artists at all points of their journey and deepen the connection between artists and fans, which is only possible on TikTok,” the company wrote in a blog post.
TikTok has so thoroughly reshaped the music industry that there’s even a Billboard chart tracking the most popular songs on the platform. The platform has created new stars, reignited the careers of established musicians, and birthed a subgenre of music that feels engineered to go viral on the platform.
But the music industry’s relationship with TikTok has been rocky at times. Like with other streaming platforms, including Spotify, artists and labels have said that compensation is inadequate for the artists that make the music soundtracking billions of TikTok videos. In the age of powerful artificial intelligence tools, deepfake voices resembling famous musicians have flooded online platforms, and in many cases, artists don’t have control over their AI doubles. On TikTok, the friction reached a boiling point in February, when Universal Music Group — which represents artists like Taylor Swift and Drake — began taking down its catalog as licensing negotiations with TikTok stalled. The two parties reached a new deal in May, saying “protecting human creativity” was a shared goal.
In recent months, TikTok has introduced features that are more obviously promotional for musicians. A set of themed photo frames and “challenges” that rolled out for the release of Swift’s newest album, for example, came in the midst of UMG and TikTok’s fight, and Swift’s music returned to the platform before an official deal had been announced. The new TikTok-branded interview series is an extension of this: another marketing opportunity for two codependent industries.

Image: The Verge

TikTok is introducing a new way for musicians on the platform to promote their music — this time through a video series.

The series, called “Off the Record,” is produced by TikTok and features musical artists like Shakira, Charli XCX, and Meghan Trainor. The short clips are similar to series like Song Exploder or The New York Times’ “Diary of a Song,” where artists talk about their inspiration behind songs, the writing and recording process, and more. The videos — some of which have already gone live — are shared by artists over the course of June.

TikTok also announced a hub on the app where Off the Record videos live. Users can find the page by searching for #OfftheRecord.

“Off the Record is part of TikTok’s continued efforts to support artists at all points of their journey and deepen the connection between artists and fans, which is only possible on TikTok,” the company wrote in a blog post.

TikTok has so thoroughly reshaped the music industry that there’s even a Billboard chart tracking the most popular songs on the platform. The platform has created new stars, reignited the careers of established musicians, and birthed a subgenre of music that feels engineered to go viral on the platform.

But the music industry’s relationship with TikTok has been rocky at times. Like with other streaming platforms, including Spotify, artists and labels have said that compensation is inadequate for the artists that make the music soundtracking billions of TikTok videos. In the age of powerful artificial intelligence tools, deepfake voices resembling famous musicians have flooded online platforms, and in many cases, artists don’t have control over their AI doubles. On TikTok, the friction reached a boiling point in February, when Universal Music Group — which represents artists like Taylor Swift and Drake — began taking down its catalog as licensing negotiations with TikTok stalled. The two parties reached a new deal in May, saying “protecting human creativity” was a shared goal.

In recent months, TikTok has introduced features that are more obviously promotional for musicians. A set of themed photo frames and “challenges” that rolled out for the release of Swift’s newest album, for example, came in the midst of UMG and TikTok’s fight, and Swift’s music returned to the platform before an official deal had been announced. The new TikTok-branded interview series is an extension of this: another marketing opportunity for two codependent industries.

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Image: Tesla

Tesla is holding its annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, today, where investors will decide the fate of CEO Elon Musk’s enormous $50 billion compensation package.
The event is not just about Musk’s payday. Tesla’s board is portraying it as a pivotal moment in the company’s effort to secure Musk’s attention span, which is divided between X Corp., SpaceX, Neuralink, and his other companies. It also hinges on the question of whether Musk can steer Tesla back on track.
From the looks of things, Musk may get exactly what he wants: both the money and the reincorporation of Tesla in Texas in retaliation of a Delaware judge voiding Musk’s package are on track to pass by wide margins, Musk claimed in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Musk is also facing a new lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation at SpaceX. And institutional investors have said they plan to vote against the pay package, calling it excessive. Will the vote go the other way? Will someone question Musk’s alleged behaviors? Watch it live here.
When is Tesla’s Annual Stockholder Meeting
Tesla’s “Cyber Roundup” Annual Shareholder Meeting will take place on Thursday, June 13th, at 4:30PM ET / 3:30PM CT / 1:30PM PT.
How to watch Tesla’s Annual Stockholder Meeting
Tesla will host a livestream of the meeting on YouTube, which can be viewed at the top of this page or on Tesla’s 2024 shareholder meeting page. Tesla will have a “limited number” of actual shareholders at the event, who were selected in a “random drawing.” Meanwhile, other stockholders can watch and participate virtually.

Image: Tesla

Tesla is holding its annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, today, where investors will decide the fate of CEO Elon Musk’s enormous $50 billion compensation package.

The event is not just about Musk’s payday. Tesla’s board is portraying it as a pivotal moment in the company’s effort to secure Musk’s attention span, which is divided between X Corp., SpaceX, Neuralink, and his other companies. It also hinges on the question of whether Musk can steer Tesla back on track.

From the looks of things, Musk may get exactly what he wants: both the money and the reincorporation of Tesla in Texas in retaliation of a Delaware judge voiding Musk’s package are on track to pass by wide margins, Musk claimed in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Musk is also facing a new lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation at SpaceX. And institutional investors have said they plan to vote against the pay package, calling it excessive. Will the vote go the other way? Will someone question Musk’s alleged behaviors? Watch it live here.

When is Tesla’s Annual Stockholder Meeting

Tesla’s “Cyber Roundup” Annual Shareholder Meeting will take place on Thursday, June 13th, at 4:30PM ET / 3:30PM CT / 1:30PM PT.

How to watch Tesla’s Annual Stockholder Meeting

Tesla will host a livestream of the meeting on YouTube, which can be viewed at the top of this page or on Tesla’s 2024 shareholder meeting page. Tesla will have a “limited number” of actual shareholders at the event, who were selected in a “random drawing.” Meanwhile, other stockholders can watch and participate virtually.

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